Morrisons has launched an initiative to hand out free fruit to children at all its stores, in a move it said would cut down on food waste and encourage young people to hit their 5 a day target.

It said it expected to give away 40,000 pieces of fruit that is within its ‘sell by’ window but is at risk of not being sold.

The Free Fruit for Kids scheme, starting this week, will include bananas, apples, pears, sweet clementines and satsumas, which will be offered at store entrances.

Tesco has given out more than 50 million pieces of free fruit since it launched its Free Fruit for Kids initiative in 2016, but Morrisons is the first to offer free fruit to kids in every store and said it would be offered every day and always have fruit available.

“Sometimes our stores are left with unsold fruit and customers would prefer us to find a use for it,” said Morrisons fruit buyer Clare Linstead.

“So we’re putting out fruit - that’s at risk of not being sold - for children to help themselves. It’s healthy for them, reduces food waste in our stores and will help make shopping easier for parents.”